U.S .officials to put off oil leases near sacred Chaco Culture park in New Mexico

(Jared Touchin/Navajo Nation via AP) In this photo provided by the Navajo Nation, Nathan Hatfield, chief of interpretation at Chaco Culture National Historical Park, speaks to Interior Secretary David Bernhardt, tribal leaders and others during a tour Tuesday, May 28, 2019 at the site about 95 miles northeast of Gallup, New Mexico.

Albuquerque, N.M. • U.S. Interior Secretary David Bernhardt has agreed to put off oil and gas leasing for a year on land that Native Americans consider sacred surrounding Chaco Culture National Historical Park in northwestern New Mexico.

Advocates welcomed Bernhardt's decision, but some cautioned that it was a stop-gap measure. They argued for passing the legislation, which they say would protect the area's archaeological and sensitive landscapes by halting new oil and natural gas lease sales on federal holdings within the buffer zone.

The delay on leasing will give the U.S. Bureau of Land Management time to finish drafting an updated management plan to guide energy development on federal land across the region. Bernhardt requested that the plan include an alternative that reflects tribal leaders' views and the boundaries sought by lawmakers.

"I walked away with a greater sense of appreciation of the magnificent site managed by the National Park Service and a better understanding of the tribal leaders' views of its cultural significance," Bernhardt said after his visit.

The Bureau of Land Management in recent years has put off leasing parcels within the buffer zone, but most of that area is Navajo land and individual Navajo allotments. The legislation would not affect mineral rights on that land, meaning development would still be possible.

The 328 square miles of allotted land has 628 oil and gas leases, according to the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs. In the last fiscal year, the agency said it paid out $32 million to those with land rights.

Robert McEntyre, a spokesman for the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association, said Wednesday that the industry has been operating in the basin for nearly a century and has become an integral part of the economy.

"Whatever BLM decides to do, it's our hope that they'll balance what they're hearing from some of the anti-oil groups with what they're hearing from residents who actually live in that area and their desire to see some economic growth," he said.

Bernhardt acknowledged during his visit that the Bureau of Land Management has a "complex mission" of managing a range of land uses.

A thousand years ago, Chaco had been an economic and ceremonial hub for the ancestors of Pueblo people, whose present-day villages are situated throughout much of New Mexico.

A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the park’s stone walls, staircases and other architectural remnants stand against a backdrop of cliffs and rocky outcroppings. Smaller archaeological sites and individual Navajo Nation family allotments can be found beyond the park’s boundaries.